You start from the premise of authoritarianism yet provide no support. What supporting evidence do you have?
What supporting evidence would convince you concretely?
I would point to the consistent consolidation of power upward in our government, from Congress to the President, away from States to Congress, away from local governments to State. Our population grows and yet congress is capped, our problems and cases grow and yet the Supreme Court isn't being increased and instead picks and chooses cases that support the federal government.
I find it hard to believe anyone is willingly ceding power upward except towards the goal of a stronger more authoritarian rule by the elite classes because they don't think lesser people are worthy of making decisions. They don't care about stepping on others as long as they think they will get to do the stepping.
If you ignored the Project 2025 manifesto, it's safe to say you'll ignore anything written here as well.
Like most great conspiracies, Project 2025 was not confined to a smoke-filled room in the basement of a guarded mansion. It was published and distributed freely for anyone and everyone to read. Now's a good time to catch up: https://www.project2025.observer/en
That they're fascist? And project 2025 is essentially a blueprint of what Hitler did by purging the bureaucracy of anyone that might oppose him. The new OMB guidelines extends it to anyone getting grants to do science.
Its clear that Vought, Miller and even Vance are fans of Carl Schmitt as they're implementing his ideas, Vance has even mentioned him publicly.
What supporting evidence would be compelling to you?